Flying with 3 young DC to florida how will I cope

[heathermumof3]

So I an looking for tips and advise. I have 3 young DC 8,3 & 20 months. I going in November to Florida and already fretting regarding the flight. My 3 DS is very very active (naughty). He can not sit still and when he has too becomes naughty like hitting chucking things shouting and crying. He get punished but I'm dreading the flight.

They have never been on a plane except my oldest DS. Also my daughter is 20 months and I am worried how she is going to cope. She has had some ent problems and I just hope flying does not interfere with her ears. She can get whingy best of times and will only sleep in her cot when dark and very rarely falls asleep on me.

Please please some one reassure me all will be fine. This is our first holiday in 4 years (saved for 2 years for it) never even went on honeymoon. I am having sleepless nights already. Just hope who ever sits next to us likes kids.

This really isnt going to make me popular but i dont think you should be going.
I dont want to sound nasty but from what you have said your children will not be able to cope with the flight and it isnt fair on them or the other passengers.
Did this not occur to you when you booked the flight?

We was going last year when my daughter was when my daughter was younger and easier to settle. My now 3 year old was much more behaved. Also my parents where coming with us But then the flights got cancelled because of weather

It has how been year and my DC are very excited again. My parents were going to travel with us and still might but they can only book last minute.

There is no way of cancelling kids are excited and can not afford to lose more money. Like I have said it has been 4 years. I am just panicking and looking for tips on how to keep young children entertained on a long flight.

It will be horrible, one or more of them will misbehave, and you will get snotty looks from other passengers...

...BUT, it will only be 8 hours or so out of your holiday and you CAN bear it and will forget it very quickly and have a brilliant time in Florida. One day you will even laugh about it!

Assume the worst and you will probably be pleasantly surprised. My kids can be hideous but they get so excited about flying that they forget to fight or whinge and get totally absorbed in the experience. We pack millions of toys, books, etc but my younger son used to spend 40 mins or more reading the emergency card onboard!! You have paid for your tickets the same as every other passenger so you are just as entitled to the flight. Ask for help from the cabin crew if you need it (but please be very grateful to them and thank them a lot!), some airlines are very good about helping hassled parents, some are not so good. Take plenty of snacks for the kids, as airline food isnt really designed with small children in mind, and they will need stuff that is familiar.

You could try getting a book about flying for kids and talk through it with them, maybe come up with an 'I-Spy' list for the airport and plane, talk about the different people you will see during the day, explain how things work, etc. If they feel involved, that might help them to want to be on 'best behaviour'. And of course, lots of praise for them when you get there without having killed anyone

Oh and could your 8 yr old be kept amused with a portable dvd player or mp3 player (music or audio books)? Most airlines have decent inflight entertainment but dont rely on there being something totally suitable for every child.

chocolate yes they have paid for their tickets and are just as entitled to fly as the other passengers however you can turn this on its head and say the other passengers have have also paid for their tickets and imo shouldnt have to tollerate bad behaviour from other peoples children.

Drugs - for either them or you - tis the only way.

Worrying about it will make it worse - it will be what it is, try to relax about it

• Take lollipops for take off and landings.
• Threaten DS with not going to Disney if he doesn't behave on the flight.
• Bribe DD1
• Buy a few new cheap crapy toys (poundland etc)
• Check out the inflight entertainment provided
• Buy DD1 & DS DS's if they don't have them and you think it would buy you some time
• Not too many sweets

BEG your parents to come with you.
PAY for my flight and I'll come with you
ADVERTISE on Gumtree for someone to help you (who is going anyway) and offer to pay them x amount.

• Leave them in Florida if they are too horrible on the way there

I'm surprised at so many negative comments: heathermumof3- you will be fine
I have done the flight many times with kids. We last went Dec 2010 when our 3 boys were 1, 3 & 4 our 3 year old is also a monkey and between him and the 1 year old I was a little dubious but knew full well it was worth every minute.
If you get on the plane expecting not to manage then you won't manage, be positive and organised, pack your hand luggage wisely, you'll be glad you juggled 3 kids and 5 hand luggage once you're on there.
I made a pump bag type bag for each of them with their names on, each with activities that they could do in short bursts. Colouring but with only a couple of pens so none roll to the back of the plane, stickerbooks, comic. I packed child friendly low sugar snacks, bread sticks, crisps etc and I kept my routine as it would be at home, if they weren't eating on the plane at snack time I made sure I gave them a snack as I would at home or on a day trip.

The setback tv's were a great novelty and even the 1yr old kept his head phones on. I also made sure he napped as he would at home.
They had a 40 minutes "fidget bum" session after about 3 hours but who can blame them, we did some low level singing, take a book read them a story. Don't be embarrassed, your fellow passengers will appreciate your control and consideration for their ears.
It was worth every minute of exhaustion and organisation when we stood up to leave the plane and the people behind us complimented us on how good the boys were.

Good luck and have a truly magical trip x

Thank you all for your comments. I am pleading with my parents to come as my dad seems to have a magical touch espicaly with the 3 year old. I have even told him I will pay extra if they have to take a later flight for my 3 year old to go with him

Lots of low sugar treats and entertainment. May splash out on another DS for the 3 year old as only my oldest have got one.

Love the book idea before we fly

mrsshears...the worst behaviour I have encountered on flights was from adults in business class seats who acted as though they owned the airline, never mind the seat. When you buy a plane ticket for a commercial flight, you have no guarantee of peace and quiet, just as there is no guarantee of no turbulence or delay. I dont think Heather's kids will be misbehaved, just boisterous! And no reasonable adult minds that, as long as the parent is seen to be aware and dealing with the children appropriately.

it will be ok. I think you are focusing on all the things that could go wrong, all the negatives. but I know how you feel because I did the same and wondered why we had booked the trip and I only have one child! Earlier this year I flew for 8 hrs with my (then) 24 month old. She wasn't happy about being strapped into her seat (which I guess will not be a problem with your 20 month old as she'll be a lap child?) and screamed loudly for 30 minutes before take off before she realised I was not giving in and she had to be strapped in. The passenger seated behind us did move seats - although the air stewardess did tell her that it was highly unlikely that my DD would scream the entire flight. I wasn't bothered she felt the need to move, I was more concerned with looking after my LO! After that DD didn't make a peep, and lots of passengers commented on how well behaved she was - and all these passengers had heard her 30 minute outburst! So i think you will find many passengers are sympathetic. The one like mrsshears you just have to forget about, because you have as much right to take your kids on the flight, you'll never see these passengers again, and they are not worth worrying about. My 24 month old didn't sleep at all (and at home she naps 2-3 hrs a day and sleep 12 hrs at night) but she made it through. if your kids haven't flown before the whole novelty will occupy them for ages. Seatback tvs even kept my DD quiet for half the time. I did have a bag of goodies (sticker books etc) which kept them quiet the other time. Have you booked kids meals? They get delivered first which stops them getting antsy. Most of all - have a fantastic holiday.

We flew to florida last year when the dc's were 7,6,4,3,and 8months.
I recommend:
Definitely take Nintendo ds if you have them
Go to the £1Shop and stock up on colouring stuff sticker books and cheapy toys.
Give the kids something to drink on take off. The sucking and swallowing keeps the ears equalised.
Take plenty of drinks and snacks to hand out regularly during the flight. Try to include a pack-up/lunch for the flight as even though we ordered the childrens meals in advance and they had our order on their meals list they managed to give them to a family who hadnt ordered so were offered an adult meal as a replacement which they didnt want to eat as it was yukky.

If you do buy cheap toys, wrap them as you'll then get a few extra minutes out of the distraction enjoyment (if you aren't made to open them at security...) I've also heard that it's better to offer high protein/low sugar snacks as it'll help them stay calm (and sugar will just add to the excitement), but i'm not sure whether that's just an old wives tale... do DSs play videos? If not, you might want to get something different (actually, something different might help anyway since then they can fight trade off the gadgets when each gets bored with his own.

I fell in love with this blog/website when I went to CA with my (then) 24 month old:
www.deliciousbaby.com/travel/family-travel-tips/

Who are you flying with? This will depend on how child friendly the flight is. For example, if virgin then there will be games and films for the kids. If a charter to Sanford, then good luck!

Take some of the lucky dip bags, games, pens etc. check our pound land for some cheap crap which you can leave there!

Try wrapping things up as a gift for each hour they behave.

Hope it all went well for you Heather. We will be flying soon to Florida and although my two can be a handful it never occurred to me that I should not fly with them in deference to the well being of other passengers